For fighters like KSW 42's Mamed Khalidov, there's life outside the UFC – maybe even a better one

In case it wasn’t obvious already, might as well spell it out: Mamed Khalidov will not be signing with the UFC.

There was a time where it seemed like, hey, maybe. There was a negotiation. There was a discussion, at least. It seemed possible that one of the most electrifying fighters to come out of Chechnya might just end up in the octagon.

Then it didn’t happen. And now it won’t happen, at least according to Khalidov (34-4-2), who is very content to keep holding it down as the middleweight champion of Poland’s KSW promotion.

“I really respect UFC, but as of right now, I feel like my home is KSW, and I’m not planning on changing it in the near future,” Khalidov told MMAjunkie via an interpreter.

Khalidov’s reasons are multi-faceted, but they’re not all unique to him and his specific situation. Increasingly, especially among fighters from certain regions, the UFC has come to seem more like one option of many rather than the default final goal.

The old conventional wisdom held that any fighter who wanted to be somebody and make some money had to sign with the UFC. But now? For fighters like Khalidov, as well as for those like light heavyweight Nikita Krylov, who left the UFC for the Fight Nights Global promotion in Russia, it may be a way of thinking that no longer conforms to the present realities.

For starters, there’s the question of money. Back in 2015, Khalidov explained in an interview that he was “expecting a different approach” from the UFC on “financial matters.”

More recently, he’s said the decision is less about money than it is about fighting where he feels valued and comfortable. Khalidov has been a Polish citizen since 2015, and a mainstay in KSW for most of the past decade.

“Poland is my home,” Khalidov said. “KSW is my home. I obviously can’t talk for other fighters who chose a similar way, but for me, I also built KSW. I was a part of it from the beginning. That’s why I plan to stay for now. I feel good here.”

Consider it from his perspective. In KSW he’s a champion who fights other champions. On Saturday he takes on the promotion’s light heavyweight champ, Tomasz Narkun (14-2), at KSW 42 in Lodz, Poland. Last spring he won a similar champion vs. champion bout against KSW welterweight champ Borys Mankowski (19-7).

Maybe those names don’t exactly scream “superfight” to North American fans, but in Poland it was a pretty big deal. Khalidov’s most recent fight drew a reported crowd of nearly 58,000 to National Stadium in Warsaw, making it one of the most well-attended events in MMA history. (By comparison, the UFC’s stadium show in Melbourne, Australia, where Holly Holm beat Ronda Rousey in 2015, drew a little more than 56,000.)

There’s also the added benefit of fighting at home, without having to travel thousands of miles to a foreign country. As Krylov (24-5) explained after leaving the UFC, “It is not the greatest pleasure to fly 10,000 (kilometers) to the fights and leave my 1-year-old son.”

It also makes sense when you consider the alternatives. If Khalidov were to sign with the UFC, he’d likely come in as just another vaguely terrifying bearded Chechen fighter. He may or may not get a big promotional push. He may or may not end up on big fight cards against big-name opponents.

He could win all his fights, and still it’s no guarantee he’ll get a title shot. So why not stay home in Poland, where at least he knows he’s appreciated?

As KSW matchmaker Wojslaw Rysiewski put it, the incentives to leave for the UFC may not be as strong as they once were.

“I think there are some European fighters now who, if they are presented with an offer which is comparable to the UFC, they might prefer to stay here rather than going the standard route of creating a good record and going to the UFC,” Rysiewski said. “I think KSW is something different. It’s a big organization, and we can pay our fighters really well. Our champions, they don’t go to the UFC. They stay with KSW because the platform here is big, we pay very well, and we sell out the big arenas.”

As for the potential downsides, those tend to fall more in the range of the intangibles. Khalidov is nearly 38 and he hasn’t lost since 2010, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Jorge Santiago in Japan’s World Victory Road/Sengoku promotion.

Then again, he also hasn’t fought too many top middleweights in their prime since then. He’s got wins over former UFC fighters such as Kendall Grove, Jesse Taylor and Luke Barnatt, plus combat sport veterans such as Matt Lindland and Melvin Manhoef. But even as he takes on challengers from the weight classes above and below his, can he ever really prove just how good he is while battling it out in a promotion like KSW?

Just as importantly, however, is the question of how much such a thing matters. After all, signing with the UFC wouldn’t necessarily guarantee him an opportunity to face the best, especially in the current era, where name value seems to count for as much or more than wins and losses.

And anyway, other people’s opinions don’t seem terribly important to Khalidov. Not when he’s fighting and winning and getting paid, all in front of people who not only know who he is, but already appreciate what he can do.

For more on KSW 42, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.